DAVID MOYES may have been denied funds with which to enter the transfer market this summer, but it seems not all of Everton’s good fortune has disappeared.

Mikel Arteta fires in Everton’s third from outside the box against Sheffield United []

While passage into the Carling Cup third round beyond Sheffield United ultimately proved comfortable, Everton needed a slice of luck en route to getting their season belatedly up and running.

It came when a Jack Rodwell driving run into the penalty area ended with a low cross that former Everton goalkeeper Steve Simonsen could only deflect on to the unfortunate Richard Cresswell, who watched in horror as the ball bobbled over his own line.

Cresswell traipsed away dejectedly, his mood in sharp contrast to just three minutes earlier when he had given the League One side a lead that was totally against the run of play.

Everton – with Ross Barkley, 17, marking his call up to the England U21 squad with an impressive cameo – never looked back and goals from Victor Anichebe and Mikel Arteta rounded off a 12-minute scoring spree before the interval to seal the contest.

Everton 3 Sheffield United 1

Eager to make amends for Saturday’s squalid reverse to QPR, Moyes would have taken heart with the vibrancy his team showed – with Barkley again showing that he possesses both a special touch and awareness – yet the hosts’ insistence on doing everything the hard way continued unabated.

Despite hemming the League One side into their own half, Simonsen, once regarded as the best young goalkeeper in England but who spent six years at Goodison Park without ever establishing himself, was initially peppered with only long-range efforts.

The failure to elicit an advantage stoked a sense of deja vu that deepened when the visitors claimed a lead that probably surprised Blades manager Danny Wilson as much as Moyes.

Stephen Quinn broke down the left and his low cross evaded an attempted clearance by Johnny Heitinga only to find Cresswell, who tucked the chance beyond goalkeeper Jan Mucha – making his first appearance since Everton lost on penalties to Brentford in the competition last season.

Had the atmosphere turned mutinous it would have been understandable, given the negativity that has enveloped the blue half of Merseyside after Barclays bank’s refusal to offer the club any more leeway in the transfer market this summer.

But after Cresswell’s unfortunate own-goal put a temporary lid on any simmering resentment three minutes later, Victor Anichebe soon turned home a cross-cum-shot from Barkley and Arteta then found the corner of the net with a sweet effort from 20 yards to send the hosts in 3-1 at half-time .

Everton could – and should – have ensured the scoreline more accurately reflected their superiority after the interval, but the tie faded as a spectacle.

There were muffled chants of ‘Sack the board’ from a section of home supporters, but for the first time in months Everton had something to celebrate.